Pat Longobardi, Sports Writer-
Shea Bromirski, 26 points, and Brian Hanuschak with 14 points and 16 rebounds, led the offensive charge in the second half as The College of Saint Rose defeated Southern Men’s basketball team 86-75 on Feb. 19.
It was Senior Day for Southern, in a Northeast-10 Conference game at Moore Field House.
Southern honored its five seniors–Demetrius Jackson, Andrew Zito, Lance Long, Chazz McCarter and Dexton Williamson–prior to the game.
The game was tight in the first half with both teams trading shots and some brief leads.
Bromirski and Saint Rose got off to a fast start, hitting back-to-back three-pointers to take the lead, 6-2.
Southern took their biggest lead of the game, 18-12, when Trevon Hamlet dunked after a fast break going back to Southern, assisted to Greg Langston, with 12:55 remaining.
Saint Rose then took the lead, 19-18, during a 7-0 run capped off with a three point basket by Andre Pope with 10:38 remaining, assisted by Bromirski.
Southern led, 26-21, after a lay-up by Kiernan Ramsey. Saint Rose then called timeout with 8:40 remaining.
The game stood close the rest of the half with Southern leading, 41-39, at halftime.
In the second half, Saint Rose again started off hot, taking the lead, 44-41. Southern led, 52-51, when Trevon Hamlet made a lay-up after getting an offensive rebound after Langston missed a jumper.
Saint Rose then went ahead for the rest of the game and never looked back, with a 7-0 run, 15-7 overall, to lead 66-55 with 9:22 remaining.
“I think we played good as a team for a good 30 minutes,” said McCarter. Then, I think we had a breakdown mentally.”
Saint Rose took their biggest lead of the game, 71-56, when Bromirski hit a three with 8:21 remaining.
Saint Rose Head Coach Brian Beaury said limiting Southern was big as they are known as a good rebounding team.
“We forced a lot of long shots, and we did a good job on the glass,” said Beaury.
Southern out-rebounded Saint Rose, 50-42, for the game. Southern also had 19 turnovers in the game. Saint Rose had 17.
Both teams made free-throws down the stretch, due to fouls, with Saint Rose maintaining their lead. Saint Rose out-scored Southern, by a margin of 13 points, 47-34, in the second half.
Saint Rose shot 25-33 from the free-throw line in the game. Southern, shot 14-21. Southern had 24 fouls in the game. Saint Rose had 20.
With the season winding down, Southern Head Coach Michael Donnelly said the team needs to stay hungry.
“As much as we are building for the future, the future could be right now,” Donnelly said.
“We need to play hungry, and we need to stay disciplined, just like we did in the beginning of the year,” said Donnelly.
Bromirski, who led Saint Rose scoring, also had four rebounds, two assists and three steals in 39 minutes.
Bromirski went 4-9 on three-pointers. Hanuschak also had one steal and one block in 29 minutes.
Rob Gutierrez had 16 points, six rebounds and three steals. Pope had 15 points, four rebounds and one block in 37 minutes.
Langston led Southern with 18 points, four rebounds, two assists and three steals in 31 minutes.
Hamlet had 14 points, nine rebounds and one block. Ramsey had 14 points, eight rebounds and one steal in 22 minutes. Williamson had 11 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks in 23 minutes.
Saint Rose was 19-7, 14-7 in the Northeast-10 Conference. Southern was 12-13, 9-12 in conference, continuing a three game losing streak.
Southern defeated Saint Rose, 85-83, on Dec. 4, in Albany, NY.
With help from within the conference, the Owls clinch a spot on the NE-10 tournament and depending on how they finish the season they could host a home playoff game.
Southern’s final regular season game is on Feb. 23 at Assumption before the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament starts on Feb. 26.
